Methods, materials and apparatus for mobile additive manufacturing of advanced structures and roadways

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure provides various aspects for mobile and automated processing utilizing additive manufacturing and the methods for their utilization. In some examples, discrete material formats for use in an Additive Manufacturing Array are disclosed. Methods of using the additive manufacturing robot, discrete materials, and the roadways produced with the additive manufacturing robot are provided. A combined function Addibot, with Additive Manufacturing capabilities, cleaning capabilities, line painting capabilities and seal coating capabilities which may be used in concert with a camera equipped aerial drone for design and characterization function is described.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority as a continuation in part to U.S.Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 16/078,221 filed on Aug. 21, 2018which in turn is a national stage entry of the PCT applicationPCT/US17/18167, filed on Feb. 16, 2017 which in turn claims the benefitof the U.S. Provisional Application Ser. 62/296,504 filed on Feb. 17,2016 as well as the U.S. Provisional Application Ser. 62/299,405 filedon Feb. 24, 2016 as well as the U.S. Provisional Application Ser.62/322,169 filed on Apr. 13, 2016 and to the U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. 62/334,783 filed on May 11, 2016. This application alsoclaims priority as a continuation in part to U.S. Non-Provisionalapplication Ser. No. 15/029,475 filed on May 8, 2017 which in turnclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. 62/286,836 filedon Jan. 25, 2016 as well as the U.S. Provisional Application Ser.62/148,035 filed on Apr. 15, 2015. This application also claims priorityas a continuation in part to U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No.16/878,136 filed on May 19, 2020 which in turn claims priority as acontinuation of the U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 16/324,058filed Feb. 7, 2019. The contents of each of the above are relied uponand incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatus that supportmobile additive material processing. Robotic and human controlledmobility may be combined with additive manufacturing techniques that“print” or additively deliver materials to specific locations overdistances. The methods and apparatus may be applied to the productionsof advanced building structures and roadways.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A known class of approaches to material fabrication can be classified asadditive manufacturing. Material in various forms, including solid,powder, gel, gas, or liquid forms may be processed in such a manner todeposit or lock in material in a target location in space.

Numerous techniques may be utilized to perform additive manufacturing.In extrusion processes materials in wire or filament form are controlledby an extrusion head which may be moved above a work area. The use ofmultiple extrusion heads and extrusion material may allow for bothpermanent and temporary structures to be formed. By building theextruded material in layers or in regions complex shapes may be formedin three dimensions. However, the technology is limited by thedimensions of the workspace—the ability of the head or heads to move inthe two dimensions of a plane and also by the dimension of the abilityof the head to move vertically relative to a planar support structure.There may be numerous variations on this form of additive manufacturing.

A different class of additive manufacturing may be classified asStereolithography. In this class, a light or heat source is used totransform the material in space. In some Stereolithographyimplementations, the work support plane is submerged in a photoactive orthermo-active liquid and a laser or other light or heat source israstered across a thin surface layer of the liquid between the supportstructure and the top level of the liquid. By translating the supportstructure down a layer, into the liquid the fluent nature of the liquidreforms a thin layer of new unreacted material over the work surface orthe previously processed layer.

Versions of Stereolithography may also work with powder formed startingmaterial. The powder may be shaped into a thin layer and then aspatially defined. Lasers may be used to transform portions of the layerinto a solidified material. In other examples, other energy sources suchas, for example, electron beams, may be used to transform the powder.Various materials including metals, insulators and plastics may beformed into three dimensional shapes by these processing techniques.

A different type of processing occurs when a print head is used todeposit material onto the powder. The deposit may chemically react withthe powder or may be an adhesive that consolidates the powder into anadhered location. The prevalence of high resolution printing technologymay make this type of additive manufacturing process cost effective.

The field is both established, with versions of additive manufacturingbeing practiced for decades; and emerging, with new techniques andmaterials being defined with rapidity. The technology may be currentlylimited by the dimensions of objects that may be produced and limits onsize that are placed by the size of the additive manufacturingequipment. Accordingly, it may be desirable to develop methods andapparatus that may allow additive manufacturing techniques and apparatusto be independently mobile. It may also be desirable to apply thetechniques in new manners to the fabrication of advanced buildingstructures and roadways.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides description for methods andapparatus that allow for mobile additive manufacturing and theapplication of these techniques to the production of advanced buildingstructures and advanced roadways. In some examples, the mobile additivemanufacturing apparatus make act in an independent or automated manner.The apparatus that performs the mobile additive manufacturing may becalled an Addibot (ADDItive roBOT).

An important characteristic of additive manufacturing apparatus may bethat material is added to a product in a controlled manner that isdriven by a digital model that resides in a controller. Through theprocessing of the additive manufacturing apparatus the digitalrepresentation may be translated to a physical approximation of materialplaced in three dimensional space.

Accordingly, in some examples disclosed in this disclosure, a mobileadditive manufacturing apparatus which may be called an Addibot may beconfigured to include a drive system which may be operative to move theapparatus along a surface. In some examples the Addibot may functionwith no physical tether. In addition, the Addibot may include anavigation system which among other functions may determine theAddibots' current location and its current bearing or direction that itwould travel in when caused to move or is travelling in if moving.

The Addibot may additionally include a controller capable of executingcode which may perform an algorithmic function. The controller may alsoprovide controlling signals to other elements of the Addibot. TheAddibot may additionally include an additive manufacturing system todeposit a material or combination of materials in prescribed locationsacross the surface that the Addibot is on or will move to during itsprocessing. The additive manufacturing system may add material to asurface based on a digital model that may be processed in one or morecontrollers that may be located in the Addibot. The origin of thedigital model may be determined externally to the Addibot oralternatively may be determined by sensing or other processing of theAddibot or may be a combination of external model definition combinedwith the data related to sensing apparatus within the Addibot. Thesystems that the Addibot has may be powered by a power system capable ofproviding power to operate at least the drive system, the navigationsystem, the control system, and the additive manufacturing system of theAddibot. In some examples multiple power systems may be present in anAddibot.

The additive manufacturing system of an Addibot may include manydifferent types and definitions capable of adding material based on adigital model in controlled fashion. In some examples, the additivemanufacturing system may include a three dimensional (“3D”) printinghead. The printing head may add material to a surface in many standardmanners including extrusion of a material by the printing head orejection of material in liquid or solvated form.

In some examples, the 3d printing head may include an array of nozzleswhich individually eject liquid form droplets in response to anelectronic control signal provided to the nozzle. In some examples, theliquid that may be process by the 3d printing head may include one ormore of water, a water or aqueous solution, a hydrocarbon based solvent,an inorganic solvent, or an emulsion of a combination of two or more ofwater, hydrocarbon, or inorganic based solvents. Solutions may include amaterial solvated in one or more of the water, hydrocarbon, or inorganicbased solvents.

In another aspect, a dimension of time may be included wherein one orboth of: a) a specified rate of extrusion and b) a specified order ofextrusion is controlled in order to obtain a desired result. Embodimentsmay accordingly include a ratio of time over distance and rate ofextrusion.

In some examples, the Addibot may also include a vision system. Thevision system may be operant to create a digital model of the topographyof a surface in a region proximate to the mobile additive manufacturingapparatus. The vision system may operate on or within the Addibot anduse a variety of detection schemes for analyzing the surface andcreating the model of the surface including light or laser based imagingtechniques or other electromagnetic radiation based imaging includinginfrared, ultraviolet or other electromagnetic radiation sources. Insome examples, the vision system may utilize sound based radiations tocreate a digital model of its surroundings which may include the surfacein the region of the Addibot. In other examples, the Addibot may deploya physical sensor to determine the topography of the surface in a regionstudied by the vision system. A controller located within the Addibotmay initiate the operation of the vision system and may receive signalsin response to the metrology that the vision system performs. In otherexamples, the Addibot may communicate with a vision system that islocated external to itself or on another Addibot for example.

In some examples, the Addibot may also include a material storage systemcapable of storing at least a first material to be supplied to theadditive manufacturing system. The stored material may include solids,powders, gels, liquids, or gasses to mentions some non-limitingexamples. In some examples, the material may be in wire forms or in someexample may exist as physical solid entities which are placed by theadditive manufacturing system. The material storage system may maintaina storage condition for the material by controlling an environmentalcondition. The condition that may be controlled may include one or moreof temperature or pressure of the material.

In some examples, the Addibot may also include a surface preparationsystem. The surface preparation system may be capable of removing one ormore of flaked surface material, dust, dirt, and debris from the surfaceregion in a region in advance of the additive manufacturing apparatus.Since the Addibot may move or when stationary the additive manufacturingsystem within the Addibot may move in a direction, the surfacepreparation system may be operant to process a region of the surfacewhere the additive manufacturing system on its own or under the drivesystem of the Addibot may move to.

In some examples, the Addibot may also include a communication systemthat may be capable of transmitting signals outside the mobile additivemanufacturing apparatus. In some examples users may use communicationssystems external to the Addibot in transmitting a control signal orcontrol signals to the Addibot. The communication system may also becapable of receiving signals originating outside of the mobile additivemanufacturing apparatus. In some examples, the signals transmitted orreceived may include one or more of radiofrequency signals, infraredsignals, optical signals or sound based signals or emissions asnon-limiting examples. In some examples the communication system mayfunction to sense the environment of the mobile additive manufacturingapparatus. The sensing may occur in addition to signal transmissionfunction. In some examples, there may be multiple communication and/orsensing systems within an Addibot.

In some examples, the power system of an Addibot may include a battery.

In some examples, the power system of an Addibot may include acombustion engine or other type of engine.

In some examples the power system of an Addibot may include anelectrical wire that may be connected to an electrical power source thatmay reside external to the Addibot which may also be called a mobileadditive manufacturing apparatus.

There may be numerous methods related to a mobile additive manufacturingapparatus. In some examples a user may transmit a signal to an Addibotwhich may include any of the types of examples of apparatus that havebeen described. The transmitted signal may cause the Addibot to nextdeposit a first layer of material on a surface utilizing systems of theAddibot. The Addibot may, in continued response to the initial signal,move from a first location to a second or different location. Aftermoving, the Addibot may in further continued response to the initialsignal deposit a second layer of material. The makeup of the first layerand second layer of material may be different in composition or physicalaspects such as thickness or may be identical except in the aspect thatit is located in a second location.

In some examples, the methods may additionally include a step to orientthe apparatus for mobile additive manufacturing, which may be called anAddibot, in a spatial coordinate system.

In some examples, the methods may additionally include a step to performa metrology process to measure the topography of a region of a surface.This may typically be in a region proximate to the Addibot or in aregion that the Addibot will move to. In some examples additional stepsin the method may include processing the result of the metrology processand using the result of the processing to control the additivemanufacturing system of the Addibot.

In some examples the methods relating to processing by an Addibot mayinclude the step of depositing a layer of material shaped by moldingpatterns. The molding patterns may be used to force molten material insome examples, or polymer precursors in some examples, into predefinedshapes such as shapes consistent with building features including walls,blocks and the like. The placement of the molding patterns may becoordinated by an Addibot device which may be controlled by a controllerimplementing pattern directions communicated to the controller indigital form.

In some examples a mobile additive manufacturing apparatus may include afirst mobility frame. The first mobility frame may include: a controllercapable of executing algorithms and providing control signals; and anadditive manufacturing system to deposit at least a first material inprescribed locations across a surface according to a first digital modelprocessed by the controller. The mobile additive manufacturing apparatusmay also include a drive system operative to transport the additivemanufacturing system along the surface; wherein the drive system islocated in a second mobility frame connected to the first mobilityframe; a vision system; wherein the vision system views the roadwaysurface and coverts capture image data into a model of surfacetopography; a navigation system to determine a location of the additivemanufacturing system and guide the drive system; and a power systemcapable of providing power to operate at least the drive system,navigation system, control system and additive manufacturing system. Thefirst material that is deposited may be added to the additivemanufacturing system as a discrete composite material comprisingmultiple layers.

In some examples, the method may also include steps where one of themultiple layers of the discrete composite material comprises stonepieces coated in asphalt or polymer modified asphalt.

In some examples, a discrete material element of an Addibot may includean inner core which may include aggregate; a coating layer comprising anadhesive; and an external coating layer. In some of these examples thediscrete material element may be released from an additive manufacturingrobot.

In some examples an additive material array device may be formed whichmay include an array of deposition elements; a storage element thatfeeds the array of deposition elements; a thermal control element thatmaintains a temperature of or within the storage element; and a localheating system that provides energy to a discrete material element,wherein the discrete material element is released by the depositionelement. In some of these examples, the local heating system may provideenergy as the discrete material element falls through it. In someexamples, the additive material array device may have a local heatingsystem which includes a microwave emitter. The microwave emitter mayheat material between its electrodes by providing microwave energy thatthey may absorb.

In some examples, a method for forming and repairing a roadway mayinclude transmitting a control signal to an apparatus, wherein theapparatus is a mobile additive manufacturing apparatus. The mobileadditive manufacturing apparatus may include a drive system operative tomove the apparatus along a surface; a navigation system to determinelocation; a controller capable of executing algorithms and providingcontrol signals; an additive manufacturing system to deposit at least afirst material in prescribed locations across the surface according to adigital model processed by the controller, and a power system capable ofproviding power to operate at least the drive system, navigation system,controller, and additive manufacturing system. The method mayadditionally include forming a first deposit of a first material on thesurface, wherein the first material is deposited by dropping a discretematerial element from an additive material array device of the additivemanufacturing system. The method may include moving the apparatus to adifferent location and forming a second deposit of a second material onthe different location.

In some examples a method of using an additive manufacturing robot mayinclude depositing from an additive manufacturing element of theadditive manufacturing robot a conductive material upon a roadway bed,wherein the deposit is controlled to be located in a pattern that willemit energy towards a vehicle passing over the conductive material. Theconductive material may be extruded from an extrusion element fed by afilament form of a composite material, wherein the filament formcomprises a metal mesh or wire surrounded by a thermoplastic coatinglayer.

The resulting structures may create an infrastructure for advancedroadways through which electrical signals may be communicated. Someexamples may include power and charging electrical devices, transmittersof various kinds in roadway, and transmitters of various kinds alongsideof roadway. Some transmitters may communicate via wired means and othersmay communicate at least in part by wireless means. Within a constructedroadway as described in this disclosure there may be devices to controlor generate signaling information for location, signaling informationrelating to the status of the roadway or sensors within the roadway. Insome examples, roadway systems may be configured to transmit data alongthe path of the roadway. In some examples the transmission along theroadway may comprise completely wireless communication in other examplesa combination of wireless and wired, sometimes with portions of the pathbeneath the roadbed may occur. There may also be communication fromsystems to equipment in the vicinity of the roadway and to neighboringcommercial and residential structures.

One general aspect includes a method of repairing a roadway or a parkinglot. The method may also include placing at least three alignmentfeatures upon the roadway or the parking lot, where the alignmentfeature are visibly distinct from the roadway or the parking lot;surveying the roadway or the parking lot, where the surveying mayinclude scanning a surface of the roadway or the parking lot for defectsand for the alignment features and recording location information alongwith scan data; processing a datafile resulting from the surveying todetermine a first model of locations to repair, where the first model oflocations to repair is calibrated to the location information of the atleast three alignment features; moving an mobile additive manufacturingrobot upon of the roadway or the parking lot, where a movement is basedupon the first model of locations to repair; preparing the surface ofthe roadway or the parking lot for a repair process with the mobileadditive manufacturing robot; and repairing the defects in the surfaceof the roadway or the parking lot with the mobile additive manufacturingrobot. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding computersystems, apparatus, and computer programs recorded on one or morecomputer storage devices, each configured to perform the actions of themethods.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. Themethod where the surveying is performed at least in part utilizing anaerial drone. The surveying is performed at least in part by one or moremobile additive robots each equipped with a vision system to scan thesurface as the mobile additive robots move over it.

At least a first mobile additive robot may include an ai processing chipto process data received from the vision system. The survey datafile iscommunicated to a remote server for processing to form the first modelof locations to repair. The remote server processes the survey datafileutilizing artificial intelligence algorithms. The method where in theremote server may include at least a first ai processing chip to processthe survey datafile. The repairing of the defects may include depositinga sealing material into a crack feature. The repairing of the defectsmay include depositing a seal coating material upon the surface.

The repairing of the defects may include depositing a plurality ofdiscrete material elements upon the surface. The discrete materialelements may include: an inner core; a first coating layer may includean adhesive, where the first coating layer surrounds the inner core; anda second solid coating layer surrounding the first coating layer, wherethe second solid coating layer prevents the plurality of discretematerial elements from binding to surrounding material while theplurality of discrete material elements is in a material storage hopper.

The method may include surveying the roadway or the parking lot toanalyze a movement of traffic. The second model may include a locationof line features upon the surface of the roadway or the parking lot. Anartificial intelligence algorithm is utilized in the creation of thesecond model. The location of line features is derived by optimizing aflow of traffic. The line features are applied to the surface by spraypainting. The line features are applied to the surface by heating athermoplastic substrate of a line feature. The line features may includean electrically conductive material.

The optimized flow of traffic may be used to generate a third model,where the third model defines locations to add strengthening material tothe surface of the roadway or the parking lot. The method may includeadding the strengthening material to the surface of the roadway or theparking and covering the deposited strengthening material with anasphalt layer. Implementations of the described techniques may includehardware, a method or process, or computer software on acomputer-accessible medium.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, that are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate several examples of the inventionand, together with the description, serve to explain the principles ofthe invention:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the general components of a mobileautomated additive manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary Addibot that maybe useful for Additive Manufacturing Surface Treatment.

FIG. 3A illustrates exemplary methods related to repair of exemplarypothole type road defects.

FIG. 3B illustrates exemplary methods related to repair of exemplarycrack type road defects.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrates exemplary processor devices that may beuseful in supporting the implementation of methods related to Addibots.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate exemplary methods related to Addibots.

FIGS. 6A-6H—illustrate exemplary composite materials designs fordiscrete structure.

FIGS. 7A-7D—illustrate exemplary composite materials designs forfeedable forms.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary discrete form AM Array compositematerial distribution apparatus.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary continuous extrusion/heating sourcematerial distribution apparatus.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary distribution apparatus coupling visionand deposition systems.

FIG. 11A illustrates exemplary advanced roadway structure that may beformed by Addibots.

FIG. 11B illustrates an exemplary Addibot in concert with features of anadvanced roadway.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary roadway in concert with an exemplarytransportation vehicle capable of interacting with the advanced roadwayin similar fashion to those capabilities employed by Addibots used inroadway construction and repair.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary Addibot in concert with features of anadvanced roadway including embedded photovoltaic or piezoelectricdevices.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary Addibot in concert with features of anadvanced roadway including embedded electric vehicle charging componentsin roadway lanes.

FIG. 15 illustrates exemplary communication modes for Addibots includingcar to road to cellular tower or broadcast tower devices.

FIG. 16 illustrates exemplary Addibot configurations wherein thedeposition system is towed or otherwise moved by another vehicle to forma system.

FIG. 17 illustrates exemplary Addibot configurations including theability to place roadway lines.

FIG. 18A illustrates a multifunctional Addibot comprising an additivemanufacturing element and other functions.

FIG. 18B illustrates a camera equipped drone which may be used inconcert with Addibots.

FIG. 18C illustrates an aerial survey that may be used in treating aregion of the survey.

FIG. 18D illustrates mapping of detected cracks and potholes upon anaerial survey result that may be used in treating a region of thesurvey.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EXAMPLES

The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatus for mobileautomated additive manufacturing. As used herein, “mobile automatedadditive manufacturing” may include control of locomotion of an additivemanufacturing apparatus over a surface free of tracks or rails.

Referring to FIG. 1, 100, some elements of an exemplary mobile additivemanufacturing system (110) may be found. The system may have a movementsystem 120 enabling transportation of the manufacturing system over asurface. This movement system may also be referred to as a drive system.The movement system 120 may function to move the apparatus on both flatand shaped or curved topography. The movement system 120 may function onwheels, balls, tracks or other means of conveyance known in the art. Insome examples, the use of automotive or truck frames either withtrailers or with modification directly to the frame itself may be used.The movement system 120 may incorporate a drive mechanism comprising anengine or motor that may act upon the conveyance elements such as wheelsor may utilize transmissions and axles to drive the conveyance elements.Various forms of directional or steering control may be possible. Insome examples, the differential control of multiple motors acting uponconveyance elements may allow for directional control. In otherexamples, the directional control may function by a steering system thatmoves the conveyance elements in ways other than in its drive sense.

The mobile additive manufacturing system 110 may include a Navigation,Control and Sensing system 130 that may function to determine a currentlocation to a desired degree of accuracy as well as an orientation ofthe device at that location. Such information may be useful inregulating direction control through the navigation system and indetermining other control variables such as speed. The sensing systemmay provide other environmental information to the control system suchas temperature and humidity at the location and in some examples at asurface beneath the location of the system. In addition, the sensor andnavigation elements may also function to provide awareness of obstaclesin the environment of the mobile additive manufacturing apparatus. Aseparate vision, measurement and inspection system may be present insome examples (a following discussion discusses this in detail) and mayinterface with the control elements or sensing elements. The controlelements may receive data in various forms and may process the datautilizing computational hardware and programing algorithms. Theprocessing may produce control signals to engage the mobile additivemanufacturing apparatus to produce an environmental change such asadding material of various forms to create three dimensional surfacecharacteristics such as a flat surface, a surface of defined topographyor a surface where defects of various types are affected with theaddition of material. In other examples, the addition of material may beused to create an image or another functional aspect such as a slipresistive coating or a tread cleaning function as examples.

The navigation element may utilize various protocols to generatelocation awareness. For example, the element may utilize GPS technology.In other examples, a local transceiver network may provide telemetrylocal relative location awareness through the use of RF systems, orlight based systems such as a laser based system This local system mayfunction within an outdoor region or alternatively be set up to functionwithin a building. Cell phone based telemetry, and other schemes such asseismic location detection may provide information for telemetry. Insome examples, the navigation element may provide a first ordertelemetry to an accuracy required to control movement of the apparatus,for example. The vision system (to be discussed) or other sensingelements may provide a next higher accuracy for calibration of location.Location marks may be present upon or within the surface and a sensorsuch as a camera system, for example, may pick up the location marks tocalibrate the navigation system and the control system. Various otherreference elements such as physically defined lines, such as found onroads or parking lots may be a type of navigation control system. Stillfurther examples may involve the embedding of conductive wires to createa navigation information system. A grid of such conductive wires maycreate a calibrated work floor with a good deal of accuracy. In stillfurther examples, the surface to be acted on by the mobile additivemanufacturing apparatus may be a temporary surface that may itself bemoved. Sheets of a temporary material may function as the surface andthese sheets as well may include coloration and/or physical elementssuch as embedded conductors to provide a telemetry signal for thenavigation element.

The Navigation control and sensing system 130 may function to define apath that the mobile additive manufacturing apparatus follows in itsprocess. In other examples, the path itself may be figured into thedesign of a desired topography. For example, in some examples it may benecessary for the mobile additive manufacturing apparatus (Addibot) totravel along a road surface and perform additive manufacturing based onaspects that it measures or determines of the surface as it travels. Inother examples, the shape of a feature to be deposited across a surfacemay involve the control of the navigation system to move the Addibot toa location where the additive manufacturing element can further controlthe additive process. In these cases, the path of the Addibot could bearbitrarily complex based on a model that it follows to generate an endresult.

Referring now again to FIG. 1, an additive manufacturing element 140 maybe represented. The various techniques known in the art may be includedas an additive manufacturing element including, for example, extrusionheads, stereolithography processing heads and material printing heads.An altered version of stereolithography may occur by the application ofthin films of liquid material upon the surface which is thensubsequently processed to create hardened surfaces. If the unreactedmaterial is removed a subsequent application of liquid reactant canbegin to build the next layer.

The material printing heads may have a wide diversity incharacteristics. Printing heads with very fine resolution may beutilized. In other examples larger volumes of material may be printedwith heads that have gross resolution. As an example, a printing headmay have rows of print heads that have an orifice size such that aroughly millimeter sized droplet may be formed. Such a droplet may havea volume of roughly 10-100,000 times that of a droplet from a 1:1000resolution. The volume of a millimeter diameter droplet may have anestimated volume of about 0.4 microliters.

In some examples, the additive process can relate to an element such asa print head depositing droplets of material over the surface to buildstructure. In stereolithography, an energy source is used to convert theliquid to a solidified material, but in these other examples, thedroplets of material may either react with the surface or solidify byother principals such as by cooling for example. Combinations ofdroplets of different material may also result in reactions that resultin solidified material.

The additive manufacturing element may also function to add materialthat changes color or pattern or other physical properties in selectregions. A version of this type of additive manufacturing may occur whenpowders are deposited in the additive process. The powder may createlines or other demarcations. In some of these examples, a subsequentsealing of the powder form may be deposited by another additivemanufacturing process.

In some examples, the additive manufacturing element may be an energysource such as a laser, ion beam or the like. As non-limiting examples,the energy source may be used to cause solid sheets of material to bondtogether or may be used to cause liquid material to solidify in definedregions. The liquid material may be added by the Addibot or be presentby other means. As an example, an Addibot may ride upon a transparentsurface that may sit above a liquid reservoir of relatively arbitrarysize. An Addibot with a laser may ride upon the transparent surface andirradiate the surface layer of the reservoir in desired locations. Aftera layer is processed, the work material beneath the transparent surfacemay be moved away from the transparent surface by a layer thickness andthe Addibot may again move around on the transparent surface irradiatingthrough the surface to image polymerizable material beneath.

The various additive manufacturing elements that may be used in thesemanners include the art that is consistent with mobile automatedadditive manufacturing.

An additive manufacturing element 140 may be part of the mobile additivemanufacturing system. There may be numerous types of additivemanufacturing elements consistent with this type of system. For example,in some examples, the material to be added may be found in a liquid formeither in its nascent form or in a processed form. The liquid materialmay be processed by droplet ejection printing schemes. Some printingelements may include MEMS jet printing elements. In other examples, theprinting element may include an array of valves that open and close todispense controlled amounts of the liquid. In still further examples, aliquid stream may be controlled by the presence of mechanical shuntswhich do not allow a stream of the liquid to be released below theelement. In fact, any liquid control mechanism, typically deployed in anarray of elements, which may allow for a spatial control over thedispensing of the material, may include an additive manufacturingelement for liquids in a mobile additive manufacturing system.

In FIG. 1, a material storage system 150 may be found. As has beendescribed there may be numerous types and forms of material that may beprocessed by an Addibot. In some examples, materials in filament formmay be used; in other examples liquids of various kinds may be employed.And, in still further examples, solids such as powder form materials maybe utilized. In each of these cases, there may be numerous materialoptions within a particular kind. There may be standard ABS plasticfilaments or other plastic filaments. In some examples, other fiberssuch as fiber class filaments may be utilized in composite processingsuch as with epoxy resin combinations with fiberglass filaments. In theliquid form a great diversity of materials may be used including resins,photoactive and thermoactive materials. Other materials in the liquidform may be a solid at an ambient condition but may be processed by theadditive manufacturing system at conditions that make the materialliquid. The powder form examples may be thermo-active and photoactivematerials or alternatively may be materials that in combination withother deposited materials cause a reaction to occur resulting in adeposited solid material. In the state of the art, metals, insulators,and ceramics to name a few materials may be formed by the processing ofpowder form materials. In other examples, the powder deposited willremain in a powder form on the surface.

In the various materials examples that may be possible with an Addibot,the environmental storage conditions on the Addibot may be important.Accordingly, the material storage system 150 may have controls overnumerous environmental conditions such as the temperature of thematerial storage, the pressure, the ambient gasses or a vacuum conditionand the humidity to mention some examples. Thus, the material storagesystem for an Addibot would have control systems for the importantenvironmental conditions. The storage system would need to allow for theautomated or non-automated replenishment or replacement of the materialthat is located in an Addibot. In some examples various combinations ofmultiple material storage systems may be present. For example, a powderstorage system and an additive manufacturing element for powder formsmay be combined with a liquid storage system and an additivemanufacturing element for liquid forms upon the same Addibot system. Instill further alternative, two different forms of material may becombined with different storage systems that feed a single additivemanufacturing element that is designed to simultaneously process the twomaterial types.

Other examples may have additive manufacturing elements to dispersesolids. The element may extrude elements of material that may be gelledto allow for the material to be formed by the additive manufacturinghead. The extrusion elements may also deposit small pieces of extrudedmaterial that is in a gelled or partially melted form. Lasers or otherhigh energy sources may cut the small pieces from the extrusion printhead as it is being extruded. In other examples, the material is not cutas it is formed into three dimensional shapes.

Solids may also be dispersed in powder forms. The powder may be carriedin a solvent as an emulsion that may be dispersed in manners thatliquids may be dispersed. In other examples, the powders may becontrolled by valves or shunts as it is dropped or impelled onto thesurface.

The various materials that are added to the surface may be furthertreated to form a solidified surface. In some cases, materials may betreated with light or other energy to heat or otherwise react thematerials to form a solidified result. In other cases, a chemicalreaction may be caused to occur by the addition of a second material. Insuch cases the additive manufacturing element may include controlelements to disperse liquids and solids or multiple liquids. Inaddition, the system may include the elements to post process thematerial such as by thermal or photochemical action. These postprocessing elements may be located on the additive manufacturing elementor may be located in other portions of the system. In some examples, thepost processing may also include processes to wash or clear the surfacefrom materials that are not solidified, adhered, or attached to thesurface. These processes may include processing to remove solid, powderor liquid material remaining on the work surface such as vacuuming orsweeping. The removed material may be recycled into the material storagesystem or may be moved to a waste receptacle. In similar fashion thepost processing steps to remove material may be performed by elementsthat are included on the additive manufacturing element or additionallybe other elements that are included in the mobile additive manufacturingsystem.

The results of the various additive processes may be measured by variousmanners to verify the conformity of the result to a modeled surfacetopography. An inspection system or a vision system 160 may performthese measurements to control the results. In some examples, the surfacemay also be studied with a similar or identical metrology element todetermine the presence of topography. Another way of looking at such ameasurement before the additive manufacturing step may be to examine thesurface for defects, cracks or fissures that may need to be processed toform a flat surface for example. Therefore, the vision system 160 may infact occur multiple times in the system. A pre-measurement may beperformed by a first measurement element and a post processingmeasurement may be performed by a second measurement element. There maybe numerous manners to measure the surface topography. As an example, alight or laser based metrology system may scan the surface and analyzethe angle of reflected or scattered light to determine topography.Similar scanning systems based on other incident energy like sound orelectromagnetic signals outside the visible spectrum like infrared or UVradiation, for example, may be used.

A different type of metrology system may result from profilometry wherean array of sensing elements may be pulled across the surface and bedeflected by moving over changes in topography of the surface. An arrayof deflecting needles or stylus may be dragged over the surface. In analternative example, a pressure sensitive surface may be pulled over thesurface under study.

The surface that the mobile automated additive manufacturing system actson may have movable defects that exist on it. This may be commonlyclassified as dust or dirt for example. An element for preparation ofthe surface 170 may be located in an Addibot. In some cases, thematerial may be removed by a sweeping or vacuuming process that movesthe particles into a region that removes them from the surface. Othermethods of removal, which may replace or supplement the sweeping orvacuuming, may include pressurized gas processing which may “blow” thesurfaces clean. There may also be electrostatic processes which chargethe particles with electric charges and subsequently attract them tocharged plates which attract the particles away. A cleansing process mayalso include a solvent based cleaning process which may subsequently beremoved in manners mentioned earlier, in a combination of the Addibottechniques. A first Addibot may function to pretreat a surface in avariety of manners while a second Addibot performs a topography alteringadditive manufacturing process.

Another element, a communication system 180, of the mobile additivemanufacturing system may be found referring to FIG. 1. In general,Addibots may be used in combinations to perform functions. Toeffectively perform their function, it may be important that theAddibots may be able to communicate with each other. The communicationsystem may also be useful for communication between the Addibot and afixed communication system. The fixed communication system may be usefulfor communicating various data to the Addibot as well as receiving datatransmissions from the Addibot. The data transferred to the Addibot mayinclude programming software or environmental target files or the datamay include environmental data such as mapping data or topological dataas examples. The communication may be carried by RF transmissionprotocols of various kinds including cellular protocols, Bluetoothprotocols and other RF communication protocols. The communication mayalso utilize other means of data transfer including transmissions ofother electromagnetic frequencies such as infrared and opticaltransmissions. Sound waves may be useful for both communication andspatial mapping of the environment of the Addibot. In some examples theAddibot may be tethered to at least a communication wire that may beuseful for data transmission.

Another form of communication may relate to visual based informationconveyed by the Addibot body itself. In some examples, the Addibot bodymay include a display screen to communicate information to thesurroundings in the form of graphic or visual data. As an example, thedisplay can warn people in the environment of the Addibot as to thefunction that the Addibot is performing and when and to where it maymove. Audio signaling may include part of the communication system inaddition. As well, the Addibot may be configured with a light systemthat can project visual signals such as laser patterns, for example.

The communication system may be useful to allow external operators toprovide direction to the Addibot. The directions may include the controlof navigation in both a real time and a projective sense. Users mayutilize the communication system to provide activation and deactivationsignals. Numerous other functional control aspects may be communicatedto control operation of the Addibot other than just the transfer ofsoftware programs including for example activation and control of thevarious subsystems.

A Power and Energy storage element 190 may be found within the mobileadditive manufacturing system. In some examples, an Addibot will betethered with a wire. The wire may be used for a number of purposesincluding providing power to the Addibot drive system or to an energystorage system within the Addibot. In many examples, the Addibot willoperate in a wireless configuration, and therefore, will contain its ownpower system in the mobile platform. Standard combustion engines andhydrocarbon fuels may include a power system along with a generatordriven by the engine to charge batteries as an electric charging system.In other examples, a battery powered system may power both the drivesystem with electric motors as well as the electronics and othersystems. The battery storage system may be recharged during periods ofnon-use and the components of such a recharging system may includeportions of the power and energy storage element. In some examples wherethe Addibot operates in an automated fashion, the recharging of theenergy storage element may also occur in an autonomous fashion whetherit is recharging electrically or obtaining additional fuel stores.

Exemplary Structure of an Addibot

There may be numerous manners to configure the novel mobile additivemanufacturing system that has been described. In the following examples,non-limiting examples are provided as examples of the different mannersthat the Addibot apparatus type may be utilized. In particular, in thenext example related to FIG. 2A, 200 reference and description will bemade to an Addibot that is configured for resurfacing. The additivemanufacturing functions of such an Addibot may provide a good examplefor the various systems and components in some Addibots. The example isprovided to give a perspective in this disclosure of supportive systemsthat may be present for other types of exemplary Addibots such as forwall building and roadway construction and repair as non-limitingexamples.

Referring to FIG. 2A, 200 an example of an Addibot may be found. Thechassis 210 of the Addibot may contain and support the systems of theAddibot in a mobile and autonomous manner.

The drive system 220 and drive flexible wheel 225 of this example may beexhibited. The depiction provides an example of one possible drivesystem using three wheels. An example using four or a different numberof wheels may also be within the scope of the inventive art herein. Thedrive system may be constructed, though, in a manner in which it doesnot interact with the other Addibot systems, for example, the visionsystem or the additive manufacturing element system. Depending on howthe wheels of the drive system 200 are powered, they may also be part ofthe navigation, control and sensing system. Based on the input from thevision system (as a part of the navigation control and sensing system)the wheels may direct the Addibot to its desired path, in a fashion thatis either autonomous or predetermined, depending on the orientation andnumber of the wheels.

A sensing element 230 may be depicted. This element may be used toperform functions necessary in the navigation, control and sensingsystem for this example. The navigation functions could be performedthrough GPS, an element grid, or other manners as has been describedrelating Navigation, Control and Sensing system 130 of FIG. 1.

An additive manufacturing element 240, and a secondary additivemanufacturing element 245 for this example may be shown. The additivemanufacturing element 240, for this example, may be a material printinghead, as described in reference to the additive manufacturing element ofFIG. 1, which may dispense water droplets of a controlled size, as wellas a controlled temperature (which may be controlled by the materialstorage systems). This element may function to execute a preciseadditive process of the material, based on input from the vision system.Another element, in this example, the secondary additive manufacturingelement 245 may be a roller or other type of distribution apparatus thatspreads or smoothens to a degree, material that was added to thesurface.

Elements of a material storage system 250 of this example are shown.These components may include various elements that may be necessary formaterial storage within an Addibot. There may be numerous alternativedesigns and orientations of components that may be consistent with thefunction of an Addibot. For this example, it may be important to includea surface material collection element which may be in part be filledfrom material outputted by the surface preparation system. These devicesmay be necessary for removing particles that may contaminate orotherwise interfere with the correct operation of the Addibot.

A vision system 260 for this example may be depicted as shown. Thiselement may use a variety of methods such as those described inreference to vision system 160 of FIG. 1. These may include a laserscanner, sensitive extruding pins or brushes, or such components as mayallow for inspection of the surface to be process or for determinationof the topography of the surface. Alternative orientations may bepossible including for example an orientation where a vision system maybe placed behind the additive manufacturing element to perform apost-inspection of the surface, after the material has been applied.Among other purposes, the inspection may be used to verify the resultsof the addition process and to see if more or less material may need tobe added.

A surface preparation system 270 for this example may be observed. Inthis example, it may be necessary to remove particles, snow, dust,debris, or dirt from the surface before it may impede the accuracy ofthe vision system in processing the surface topography. The surfacepreparation system 270 shown in FIG. 2A may include a brushing system, avacuum system, and a scraping system or a combination of these. Thesesystems may be used to remove undesired particles from the surface.Other particle removal systems, including ionizing plates, a sweepingbroom, or other brush based devices, other types of vacuums or suctiondevices; high pressure gas treatments to blow surface debris into acollection region, among other systems may also be usable for thisexample of an Addibot.

A communication system element 280 for this example may be seen. Thiselement may be used to carry out communication processes, either betweenother Addibots or an external user. These tasks may be carried out inmanners consistent with methods described in reference to thecommunication system 180 of FIG. 1.

A power and energy storage system 290 may be depicted. This element maybe a battery to power the example's electrical systems and motors, or acombustion engine to power the drive system which may also charge abattery system as non-limiting examples. The power system may providemechanical energy to the drive system or may provide electrical energyto the drive system which may power engines that comprise portions ofthe drive system. Electrical energy from generators connected tocombustion engines or from battery sources may be used to powersubstantially all of the electronic systems utilized throughout anAddibot. Other energy storage sources such as compressed air may also beacceptable solutions for energizing the operations of an Addibot.

Roadway Repair with Addibots

An Addibot, may be guided to a defect through communication of locationinformation. In other examples, an Addibot may analyze a road surface todetect the presence of cracks or potholes in a non-limiting example.Teams of Addibots may survey roads and repair the defects that arefound. Examples have been provided for the repair of potholes inconjunction with advanced roadways, it may be apparent that Addibots maybe used in similar manners for repair of such features on genericroadways of various types.

The exemplary Addibot as has be described earlier in the presentdisclosure may be used to perform a process of repair, and referring toFIG. 3A, a repair on a pothole 300 may be illustrated. An exemplary stepfor drying the pothole 305 defect may start with a vacuum process or theaddition of a drying agent followed by its removal. Next fillingmaterial may be added to the pothole. In an example, a compositematerial 315 of filler and adhesive/sealing material may be added inaddition step 310.

In another example of an addition step 320, a layer of filler material325 such as stone may be added as an example. An addition step 330 mayadd a layer of adhesive and sealing material 335 upon the layerdeposited in the addition step 320. In some examples, the addition step320 and addition step 330 may be performed and then repeated in sequencenumerous times until the pothole 300 is filled to an appropriate level.In some examples, the appropriate fill level may be to the top of thepothole 300 to be level with the surrounding roadway. In other examplesthe appropriate fill level may be above the level of the surroundingroadway.

In some examples, the filed pothole 300 may be further processed byprocessing after filling 340. The processing after filling may includerolling or other high pressure treatments to consolidate the filledmaterial. As an additional, non-limiting example, the processing afterfilling may also include high frequency vibration treatments toconsolidate the filled material. In other examples, treatments withpolymerizing treatments such as exposure to Ultra-Violet light (UV) maybe performed to initiate polymerization reactions with appropriatepolymerizable material if it was included in the adding of a layer ofadhesive or sealing material steps. In some examples, a coolingtreatment 345 may be performed if the filler material and adhesive andsealing material are added hot or generate heat in their polymerizationprocessing. The cooling treatment 345 may be performed to cool at leasta surface layer of the filled material so that traffic may be allowed torun on the repaired roadway.

The exemplary Addibot as has be described earlier in the presentdisclosure may be used to perform a process of repair, and referring toFIG. 3B, a repair of cracks 350 may be illustrated. An exemplary stepfor cleaning the cracks 355 may start with a cleaning with pressurizedair as a non-limiting example. As an additional non-limiting example,this step for cleaning the cracks 355 may also include a destructivestep, such as routing, to widen the crack, if the crack has a largersub-structure than the crack's surface profile, or if the overall sizeof the crack is initially too small to make the necessary repairs. Nextfilling material may be added to the crack. In an example, a sealingagent 365 may be added in addition step 360. The Addibot may position acomponent to perform the addition step 360.

In another example of an addition step 370, an array of components maydeposit multiple locations of droplets 375 of sealing material. Thepattern of the multiple droplets may be controlled by a controllerwithin the Addibot. As the Addibot moves over the roadway it maydispense sealing material at appropriate locations based on cracklocation. In some examples, the steps at 360 and 370 may be performedand then repeated in sequence numerous times until the crack 350 at aparticular location is filled to an appropriate level. In some examples,the appropriate fill level may be to the top of the crack 350 to belevel with the surrounding roadway. In other examples the appropriatefile level may be above the level of the surrounding roadway.

In some examples, the filed crack 350 may be further processed byprocessing after filling 380. The processing after filling may includerolling or other high pressure treatments to consolidate the filledmaterial. In other examples, treatments with polymerizing treatmentssuch as exposure to Ultra-Violet light (UV) may be performed to initiatepolymerization reactions with appropriate polymerizable material if itwas included in the adding of sealing material steps. In some examples,a cooling treatment 385 may be performed if the filler material andadhesive and sealing material are added hot or generate heat in theirpolymerization processing. The cooling treatment 385 may be performed tocool at least a surface layer of the filled material so that traffic maybe allowed to run on the repaired roadway. Examples have been providedfor the repair of cracks in conjunction with discussion of advancedroadway, it may be apparent that Addibots may be used in similar mannersfor repair of such features on generic roadways of various types.

Control Systems

Referring now to FIG. 4A, a controller 400 is illustrated that may beused in some examples of a mobile additive manufacturing apparatus. Thecontroller 400 includes a processor 410, which may include one or moreprocessor components. The processor may be coupled to a communicationdevice 420.

The processor 410 may also be in communication with a storage device430. The storage device 430 may include a number of appropriateinformation storage device types, including combinations of magneticstorage devices including hard disk drives, optical storage devices,and/or semiconductor memory devices such as Flash memory devices, RandomAccess Memory (RAM) devices and Read Only Memory (ROM) devices.

At 430, the storage device 430 may store a program 440 which may beuseful for controlling the processor 410. The processor 410 performsinstructions of the program 440 which may affect numerous algorithmicprocesses and thereby operates in accordance with mobile additivemanufacturing equipment. The storage device 430 can also store Addibotrelated data in one or more databases 445 and 446. The databases 445 and446 may include specific control logic for controlling the deposition ofmaterial at each of the additive manufacturing components which may beorganized in matrices, arrays, or other collections to form a portion ofan additive manufacturing system.

Referring to FIG. 4B additional aspects of control systems aredisplayed. Referring now to FIG. 4B, additional aspects of controllerhardware useful for implementing the present invention may beillustrated as a block diagram that may include a controller 450 uponwhich an embodiment of the invention may be implemented. Controller 450may include a bus 452 or other communication mechanism for communicatinginformation, and a processor 454 coupled with bus 452 for processinginformation.

Controller 450 may also include a main memory 456, such as arandom-access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, coupled tobus 452 for storing information and instructions to be executed byprocessor 454. Main memory 456 may also be used for storing temporaryvariables or other intermediate information during execution ofinstructions to be executed by processor 454. Controller 450 may furtherinclude a read only memory (ROM) 458 or other static storage device 460.

Controller 450 may be coupled via bus 452 to a display 462, such as acathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD), for displayinginformation to a computer user. An input device 464, includingalphanumeric and other keys, may be coupled to bus 452 for communicatinginformation and command selections to processor 454. Another type ofuser input device may be a cursor control 466, such as a mouse, atrackball, a touchpad, or cursor direction keys for communicatingdirection information and command selections to processor 454 and forcontrolling cursor movement on display 462. This input device maytypically have two or three degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis(e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allows the device to specifypositions in a plane.

Some embodiments of the invention may be related to the use ofcontroller 450 for setting operational parameters. According to oneembodiment of the invention, control parameters may be defined andmanaged by controller 450 in response to processor 454 executing one ormore sequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 456.Such instructions may be read into main memory 456 from anothercomputer-readable medium, such as storage device 460. Execution of thesequences of instructions contained in main memory 456 causes processor454 to perform the process steps described herein. In alternativeembodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or incombination with software instructions to implement the invention. Thus,embodiments of the invention are not limited to any specific combinationof hardware circuitry and software.

The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein may refer to anymedium that participates in providing instructions to processor 454 forexecution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limitedto, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.Non-volatile media includes, for example, solid state devices (SSD) ormagnetic disks, such as storage device 460. Volatile media may includedynamic memory, such as main memory 456. Transmission media includescoaxial cables, copper wire, and fiber optics, including the wires thatcomprise bus 452. Transmission media may also take the form of infraredand radio frequency transmissions, acoustic or light waves, such asthose generated during radio wave and infrared data communications.

Common forms of computer-readable media may include, for example, amemory stick, hard disk or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, anyother optical medium, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any othermemory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, orany other medium from which a computer can read.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 454 forexecution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on amagnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over adistributed network such as the Internet. A communication device mayreceive the data on the telephone line and use an infrared transmitterto convert the data to an infrared signal. An infrared detector mayreceive the data carried in the infrared signal and appropriatecircuitry can place the data on bus 452. Bus 452 may carry the data, orotherwise be in logical communication to the main memory 456, from whichprocessor 454 retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructionsreceived by main memory 456 may optionally be stored on storage device460 either before or after execution by processor 454.

Controller 450 may also include a communication interface 469 coupled tobus 452. Communication interface 469 provides a two-way datacommunication coupling to a network link 470 that may be connected to alocal network 472. For example, communication interface 469 may operateaccording to the internet protocol. As another example, communicationinterface 469 may be a local area network (LAN) card a datacommunication connection to a compatible LAN. Wireless links may also beimplemented.

Network link 470 may typically provide data communication through one ormore networks to other data devices. For example, network link 470 mayprovide a connection through local network 472 to a host computer 474 orto data equipment operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) 476.ISP 476 in turn may provide data communication services through theworldwide packet data communication network now commonly referred to asthe “Internet” 479. Local network 472 and Internet 479 may both useelectrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals that carry digital datastreams. The signals may be transmitted through the various networks andthe signals on the network link 470 and through communication interface469, which carry the digital data to and from controller 450 areexemplary forms of carrier waves transporting the information.

In some embodiments, Controller 450 may send messages and receive data,including program code, through the network(s), network link 470 andcommunication interface 469. In the Internet example, a server 490 mighttransmit a requested code for an application program through Internet479, ISP 476, local network 472 and communication interface 469.

Processor 454 may execute the received code as it is received, and/orstored in storage device 460, or other non-volatile storage for laterexecution. In this manner, controller 450 may obtain application code inthe form of a carrier wave.

Access devices may therefore include any device capable of interactingwith controller 450 or other service provider. Some exemplary devicesmay include a personal digital assistant, a mobile phone, a smart phone,a tablet, a netbook, a notebook computer, a laptop computer, a terminal,a kiosk, or other type of automated apparatus. Additional exemplarydevices may include any device with a processor executing programmablecommands to accomplish the steps described herein.

A controller may be a programmable board such as an Arduino board,and/or one or more of: personal computers, laptops, pad devices, mobilephone devices and workstations located locally or at remote locations,but in communication with the controller. System apparatus may includedigital electronic circuitry included within computer hardware,firmware, software, or in combinations thereof. Additionally, aspects ofthe invention may be implemented manually.

Apparatus of the invention may be implemented in a computer programproduct tangibly embodied in a machine-readable storage device forexecution by a programmable processor and method actions can beperformed by a programmable processor executing a program ofinstructions to perform functions of the invention by operating on inputdata and generating output. The present invention may be implementedadvantageously in one or more computer programs that are executable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processorcoupled to receive data and instructions from, and to transmit data andinstructions to, a data storage system, at least one input device, andat least one output device. Each computer program may be implemented ina high-level procedural or object oriented programming language, or inassembly or machine language if desired, and in any case, the languagecan be a compiled or interpreted language. Suitable processors mayinclude, by way of example, both general and special purposemicroprocessors.

Generally, a processor may receive instructions and data from aread-only memory and/or a random-access memory. Generally, a computermay include one or more mass storage devices for storing data files;such devices include Solid State Disk (SSD), magnetic disks, such asinternal hard disks and removable disks magneto-optical disks andoptical disks. Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computerprogram instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory,including, by way of example, semiconductor memory devices, such asEPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks such as,internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; andCD_ROM disks may be included. Any of the foregoing may be supplementedby, or incorporated in, ASICs (application-specific integratedcircuits).

Methods

There may be numerous methods of utilizing an Addibot, manufacturing anAddibot or creating a product with an Addibot. Referring to FIG. 5A andFIG. 5B, an exemplary set of method steps that may be commonly utilizedin numerous examples of Addibots are displayed. The steps are displayedin a flow chart for example. The steps may flexibly be used or not used,and the order of the steps may be changed within the scope of theinventive art of Addibots.

Referring to FIG. 5A, at 510A, an Addibot of a particular type may beobtained by a user. Next, at step 520A the user may transmit a controlsignal to the Addibot. The transmitting may involve numerous meansincluding a wireless transmission, a wired transmission or atransmission involving a physical interaction such as pushing a switchor a display panel of an Addibot. The initiation signal may cause avariety of responses that are proximately caused by the initiation evenif further interaction with the user is or is not required or if theAddibot will flexibly respond to its environment or programmingthereafter.

At 530A, in some examples the Addibot may perform an orientation step.This step may assess one or more of determining a spatial location in aspatial coordinate system and may also assess movement and direction ofmovement or potential movement in a spatial coordinate system.

At 540A, in some examples the Addibot may perform a metrology process ona region of a surface. In other examples at 540A an apparatus externalto an Addibot may perform a metrology process on a region of a surfaceand may communicate information to an Addibot related to the metrologyor related to the processing of the metrology data in some form 550A. Insome examples, these metrology steps may involve the measurement ofsurface topography in such a manner as to identify cracks and holes orpotholes in the surface of a roadway.

Additionally, at 550A, in some examples the Addibot may process theresult of the metrology by means of a processor. The processor may insome examples identify the presence of a crack or other defect,determine a need for such a feature to be filled or otherwise haveaction performed on it, and then establish the location information forthe feature detected.

At 560A, in some examples the Addibot will utilize the information thatit has received in various manners about the surface and any desiredmodel that results from this information and based on a digital modelprovide controlling signals to the additive manufacturing system. Thecontrolling signals may cause a component to release material onto thesurface at a prescribed time as the component becomes located over adesired location.

At 570A, in some examples, the Addibot will deposit a first layer ofmaterial on a surface. In some examples, the first layer of material mayinclude adhesives or sealers. In some other examples, the first layer ofmaterial may include a mixture of aggregate or small solids and anadhesive or sealing agent. In still further examples, the adhesive orsealing agent may be further processed by exposure to an energy sourcesuch as a UV light exposure to initial a polymerization reaction in thematerial.

At 535A, there may be a loop process that occurs in some examples andunder some situations that may cause the Addibot to return to step 530Aand continue processing. In an alternative example, in some examples, asshown at 545A a loop process may occur that may cause the Addibot toreturn to step 540A and continue processing.

At 580A, a step may occur where the Addibot is moved from a firstlocation to a second location. In some examples, a characteristic ofthis movement is that as part of the Addibot moving the additivemanufacturing system moves from a first location to a second location.This movement of the entire Addibot occurs even if portions of theadditive manufacturing system could move some or all of the printinghead or other additive element to the same second location without amovement of the Addibot.

At step 590A, the Addibot may deposit at the second location a secondlayer of material. The nature of the second deposit may include adifferent material, or a same material. The nature of the second depositmay include a different physical characteristic such as thickness or thesame characteristic as a first deposit. The second deposit may becontiguous with a first deposit but be located at a second location andbe considered a second deposit, by the very nature of being at a secondlocation.

Referring to FIG. 5B, at 510B, an Addibot of a particular type may beobtained by a user. Next, at step 520B the user may transmit a controlsignal to the Addibot. The transmitting may involve numerous meansincluding a wireless transmission, a wired transmission or atransmission involving a physical interaction such as pushing a switchor a display panel of an Addibot. The initiation signal may cause avariety of responses that are proximately caused by the initiation evenif further interaction with the user is or is not required or if theAddibot will flexibly respond to its environment or programmingthereafter.

At 530B, in some examples the Addibot may perform an orientation step.This step may assess one or more of determining a spatial location in aspatial coordinate system and may also assess movement and direction ofmovement or potential movement in a spatial coordinate system.

At 540B, in some examples the Addibot may perform a metrology process ona region of a surface. In other examples at 540B an apparatus externalto an Addibot may perform a metrology process on a region of a surfaceand may communicate information to an Addibot related to the metrologyor related to the processing of the metrology data in some form 550B. Insome examples, these metrology steps may involve the measurement ofsurface topography in such a manner as to allow for the adjustment ofthe level of a forming mold as it is placed to interact with thesurface.

Additionally, at 550B, in some examples the Addibot may process theresult of the metrology by means of a processor. The processor may insome examples identify the level of the surface. In other examples theprocessor may identify the presence of a crack or other defect,determine a need for such a feature to be filled or otherwise haveaction performed on it, and then establish the location information forthe feature detected. In some examples, the detection of a defect maycause the Addibot to send a signal and wait for a user to interact withthe Addibot for additional controls.

At 560B, in some examples the Addibot will utilize the information thatit has received in various manners about the surface and any desiredmodel that results from this information and based on a digital modelprovide controlling signals to the additive manufacturing system. Thecontrolling signals may cause the Addibot to adjust the level ofcomponents within the Addibot; or the level of the Addibot frame itself.

At 570B, in some examples, the Addibot may create a first structure byextruding material into a forming mold. In some examples, the firstlayer of material will include thermoplastics or other extrusionmaterials. In some examples, the Addibot may fill a portion of theresulting formed structure with wall forming materials such as cement.In other examples, the Addibot may signal the completion of a firststructure formation and another device or another Addibot may add wallforming materials to the thus formed structure.

At 535B, there may be a loop process that occurs in some examples andunder some situations that may cause the Addibot to return to step 530Band continue processing. In an alternative example, in some examples, asshown at 545B a loop process may occur that may cause the Addibot toreturn to step 540B and continue processing.

At 580B, a step may occur where the Addibot is moved from a firstlocation to a second location. In some examples, a characteristic ofthis movement is that as part of the Addibot moving the additivemanufacturing system as a whole moves from a first location to a secondlocation even if portions of the additive manufacturing system couldmove some or all of the printing head or other additive element to thesame second location without a movement of the Addibot. Forming moldpieces that may be present in the Addibot may be moved verticallyupwards and downwards in the process of readying the Addibot formovement and then preparing the Addibot for a next processing step.

At step 590B, the Addibot may create a second structure by extrudingmaterial into a forming mold at the second location. The nature of thesecond structure formed may include a different material, or a samematerial. The nature of the second structure formed may include adifferent physical characteristic such as thickness or the samecharacteristic as a first deposit. The second structure formed may becontiguous with a first structure formed but be located at a secondlocation and be considered a second structure, by the very nature ofbeing at a second location.

Materials, Structures, Designs

There may be numerous possible material structures to be used by anAddibot in the repair or construction of roadways or more generally inthe deposition of materials itself. These material structures mayinclude multiple constituents in their composition, with primarymaterials including those used for asphalt, concrete, or other types ofroad constructions. As used herein asphalt may refer to naturallyoccurring asphalt or polymer modified asphalt or bitumen as well asmixtures of various kinds which include asphalt as a component.Referring to FIGS. 6A-6H, an exemplary set of material designs that mayform a discrete structure for depositing with an Additive ManufacturingArray (AM Array), or other material distribution system are displayed.Additionally, FIGS. 7A-7D display an exemplary set of feedable forms ofmaterial designs for depositing with an extrusion head, or othermaterial distribution system. These material designs are shown in theaforementioned figures with non-limiting but exemplary composite forms;in practice, these material designs may be more complicated, withdifferent material distributions than shown in the exemplary figures.Alternatively, they may be more uniform in design than depicted.

Referring to FIGS. 6A-6H, exemplary discrete composite material designstructures are displayed; these structures each may have similarexemplary material composition, in terms of layering patterns, relativemass ratios, and other characteristics, but different exemplary crosssections and overall shapes are shown among the various figures. Thisexemplary material composition, as a non-limiting example, may be shownby FIG. 6A; an outer material shell 611 may surround an inside materiallayer 612, surrounding an inner material core 613. Each of these layersmay include different materials. For example, the outer material shell611 may be of much smaller thickness than the other material layers andmay include a material, like paraffin wax, that may have differentthermal properties than the other material layers, such that it has alower melting point then the other layers. The inside material layer 612and inner material core 613 may include materials that are consistentwith the road construction they are being used for. With asphalt roadconstructions as a non-limiting example, the inside material layer 612may include a bituminous tar material and the inner material core 613may include a mineral aggregate material chosen for the roadconstruction. In some examples, the aggregate may be coated withasphalt. It may be common for the inner material core to include thebituminous tar material while the inside material layer 612 may includemineral aggregate material which may be coated in asphalt containingmaterial. This concentric material layout shown in FIGS. 6A. 6C, and 6Gmay be desired for certain road construction types, however, as seen inFIG. 6E, other material layouts may be possible. For example, thematerial composition of FIG. 6E, in terms of the chosen materials, maybe consistent with that of FIG. 6A, with a similar outer material shell630, and inside material layers 631 and inner material core 632;however, the inner material core 632, in this arrangement, may be seento split the inside material layers 631 into 2 discrete layers. Thisarrangement may function to increase the surface area of contact betweenthe layers for this cross section or suit other desired purposes. Inother exemplary arrangements, the inside material and inner materialcore may not even be discrete layers or shells, but may be uniformlymixed, with this uniform mixture contained by the outer material shell611, 630. There may be variations that include additional or fewerlayers. Furthermore, in some examples the order of layers may be changedfrom those discussed in the above examples.

As mentioned, FIGS. 6A-6H demonstrate exemplary cross sections andoverall shapes for discrete composite material design structures. FIG.6A demonstrates an exemplary circular cross section 610 of a discretecomposite material design structure in the shape of a sphere (FIG. 6B).FIG. 6C demonstrates an exemplary square cross section 620 of a discretecomposite material design structure in the shape of a cube (FIG. 6D). Inthis example, the edges and corners are shown to have a fillet of someradius; this radius may vary in practice. FIG. 6E demonstrates anexemplary square cross section 640 of a discrete composite materialdesign structure in the shape of a disc (FIG. 6F). FIG. 6G demonstratesan exemplary rectangular cross section 650 of a discrete compositematerial design structure in the shape of a rectangular prism (FIG. 6H).In this example, the edges and corners are shown to have a fillet ofsome radius; this radius may vary in practice. These examples may beseen as non-limiting. There may be other cross sections and overallshapes of discrete composite material design structures that may existin practice. The discrete parts may be fed into additive manufacturingarrays for individual deposition from select array elements.

Referring to FIGS. 7A-7D another type of material format may be found.Unlike the discrete examples, the materials illustrated in FIGS. 7A-7Drepresent continuous feed examples. For example, referring to FIG. 7A anexemplary cross section 710 for continuous feed formats may be foundwith internal structures made up with asphalt layers and aggregate withcoated asphalt in non-limiting examples. The aggregate may be chosenfrom a select particle size and/or a distribution of particle sizes. Insome examples, the distribution may be related to the ability tocontinuously feed asphalt and aggregate material into holes in roadways.

Referring to FIG. 7B an example of a single filament type structure withan internal structure such as in examples 7A. In example 7C analternative 720 may be demonstrated where edges of a flexible outercoating material may close on themselves such that collections ofdeposition material in chunks may be continuously fed, yet they may beconnected to each other. As a model example, the material form may belike ravioli form pasta. In another example, the material form may belike connected sausages. Another example of interconnected pieces may befound in reference to FIG. 7D where a thin filament form 730 of materialmay interconnect discrete quantities of roadway filling material. Inother examples, the form factor may include material related to otherapplications than roadway repair such as depositing materials for largeproduct printing or structure building.

In some examples, a filament form structure may include an outer layerof thermoplastic material surrounding a core of metallic material. Thecore of metallic material may be found in numerous forms includingpower, solid strand, and mesh of strands of metallic wire asnon-limiting examples. A strand of wire mesh surrounded by asphalt and athin coating layer may be used to imprint wire form materials upon aroadway surface. In some examples, the imprinted wire form may be placedupon the roadway or repaired roadway surface or it may be buried in achannel that may be cut into the roadway while processing is performed.Numerous examples of material may be formed into structures as depictedwhich may then be deposited upon a surface in a continuous controlledmanner similar to the deposition of material in a typical commercial FDM3D printer. In some examples the strands of material may be as large asor large than a diameter of one centimeter. In other examples the strandmay have a diameter of 5 centimeters or larger. In some examples,thinner strands of filament formed material may be wrapped around eachother to form larger formed material. In the examples with perforationsor thin tabs connecting segments of the material, the perforations ortabs may impart the ability of the material to be stored by wrapping itaround cylinders that may be uncoiled during use.

There may be many materials incorporated into filaments and segmentedfilaments as described. The core composite materials may includeasphalt, asphalt coated aggregates of stone or other solid materialswhich may be sorted in size distribution or sorted to a small dispersionaround a targeted size. Other core materials may include cementmixtures. Other examples of core materials may include metals, fibers ofplastics, fibers of nanostructure materials including graphene andcarbon nanotubes where the fibers may be small diameter fibersimpregnated in other fibers, natural fibers, natural fibers treated withor impregnated with other materials to make them conductive or to addstrength, elasticity, or other physical properties. It may be apparentthat the component that distributes material of the various forms maydistribute more than one material form in a surface region of interestsimultaneously.

There may be numerous materials for surrounding layers, includingadhesives, solvents, and other fluids that may interact in some exampleswith the core materials. The examples of surrounding layers may includeasphalt, epoxies, cyanoacrylates, silicones, gels, hydrogels, andmonomer forms of various polymers which may be thermally activated,photo-activated, or chemically activated in non-limiting examples.Thermoplastics such as ABS, Nylon, PLA, Acrylic, PolybenzimidazolePolycarbonate, Polyether sulfone, Polyether ketone, Polyetherimide,Polyethylene, Polyphenylene oxide, Polyphenylene sulfide, Polypropylene,Polystyrene, Polyvinyl chloride, and Teflon may provide non-limitingexamples. Adhesives may also be included which may or may not havethermoplastic characteristics. The Adhesives may include non-reactiveadhesives, drying adhesives such as solvent based adhesives, contactadhesives, rubber cements, polymer dispersion adhesives,pressure-sensitive adhesives, contact adhesives, hot adhesives or hotmelt adhesives, multicomponent adhesives in addition to epoxies mayinclude urethanes and acrylics, single component adhesives which mayreact upon exposure to radiation, solvents, chemicals, moisture, orthermal processing. Photo-curing may be provided by light from variousspectral frequencies including ultraviolet and visible spectrumfrequencies as non-limiting examples.

In some examples the outermost layer may include materials for uniqueinterface characteristics to the ambient and to the equipment used by anAddibot. The outer layer may include solid formed material, elastomers,and thermoplastics as non-limiting examples. Some examples may includepolymer modified asphalts that impart flexibility and strength to thethin layer formed. Paraffin and paraffin based products such as paraffinenhanced with cellulose and other sealing materials. In some examplesthe sealing materials may be chosen to co-melt into the internalstructures of the discrete pieces such as the examples of FIG. 6A-6H, orthe filament type examples of FIG. 7A-7D. In some example, thermoplasticelastomers in sheet form may be used for a thin external sealing surfaceof the material structure. Various shrink wrap films and composite filmcombinations may be used for an external layer. Some polyolefinmaterials may enhance the properties of a modified asphalt binding layerfor a roadway, and their use as an external layer may result infavorable properties first as a sealant and then as an incorporatedportion of an asphalt based deposit.

Additive Manufacturing Array—Heating

Referring to FIG. 8 an example of an AM Array that may process discretematerial pieces may be found. Although the AM Array may functionsimilarly for liquid form bulk material being fed into it, discretepieces 820 are illustrated. The discrete pieces 820 may be of theexemplary spherical type as shown in cross section in FIG. 8. Adistribution element 810 may release a discrete piece 820 to fall ontoan underlying surface. In the distribution element and in storagelocations before the distribution element, the pieces may be heatedabove ambient conditions but below a temperature where the externalencapsulation layers of the discrete piece 820 may either co-melt intoother materials in the discrete piece or may rupture or dissolve. As thediscrete piece 820 falls, it may fall through a zone between a heatingsystem denoted by plates 830 and 831 where the heating energy may bedepicted as energy 832. In some examples, the heating system may emitmicrowave energy. The frequency of the microwave energy may beengineered to interact with the discrete piece in a defined manner. Insome examples, the microwave energy may be absorbed by aggregatematerial within the discrete piece 820. In other examples, the microwaveenergy may be tuned to be absorbed by other layers, such as a layer ofasphalt within the discrete piece 820. In still further examples, themicrowave energy may be provided in a broad enough spectrum to interactwith multiple layers within the discrete piece 820. As the discretepiece 820 absorbs the microwave energy it may be heated and reach adesired temperature to be further processed after it interacts with theunderlying surface. The discrete piece may then become an intermixeddiscrete piece 840. The temperature may induce other changes includingthe co-dissolving of layers into each other and the rupture ordissolution of the external layers due to the temperature increase orpressure increase in the discrete piece 820 due to the temperatureincrease. Other heating systems may also heat the material in other waysincluding radiant heating, conductive heating, convective heating, orabsorbed energy heating as non-limiting examples.

Continuous Heating and Extrusion Source

Referring to FIG. 9, a continuous feed heated extrusion source offilament type material systems is illustrated. The material may be athin filament form of continuous feed material 910. That is advanced orfed by a feeding mechanism 920 which will press the material forwardinto the heating mechanism 930. The heating mechanism 930 may heat thematerial by conduction from a heating source. In some examples, thematerial may be heated with absorbed radiation such as microwaveradiation. There may be combined manners to heat the material in theheating source. The pressure on the material in the heating source mayforce the material out of an extrusion head 940. The resulting extrudedmaterial 950 may include the various types of materials that have beendiscussed previously and may adhere and fill in feature on the surfacethat is printed upon.

Exemplary Vision and Deposition System

Referring to FIG. 10 an Addibot 1010 may include an AM Array 1020 and anexemplary vision system 1050. The vision system 1050 may scan 1051 asurface under the Addibot 1010 and determine a depth of material to addto the surface. In some examples, the vision system may includestereoscopic cameras that may map and allow for the depth of featurecalculation. In other examples, the vision system may include a lasercoherence depth measurement system. In other examples, the vision systemmay include a wavelength scanning interferometer. In other examples, thevision system may include an ultrasound imaging system.

An algorithm may convert the observed depth and the speed of the Addibotalong with its calculated location in reference to the image derived.The algorithm may be used to control the Amar ray to release discretematerial elements 1030 through the local heating region into a crack orhole or another defect of a surface 1040. As can be seen some locationwill have more material or less material released depending on thetopography of the features on the surface as observed in a depth profileby the vision system. In some examples, different sized discretematerial elements may release different sized material elements to allowfor more flexible filling. In some other examples, different materialelements may have different materials within them or different ratios ofmaterial within them.

Advanced Roadway Construction with Addibots

Examples of structure building with extrusion components within anAddibot have been described in the recent section. Different versions ofextrusion components may be used to construct advanced roadways as well.Referring to FIG. 11A, some features that may be produced by an Addibotconfigured to support roadway construction may be observed. A roadway1110 may be formed in the various standard manners that such surfacesare constructed. There may be an interface 1120, where a roadwayaccording to the present disclosure has an advanced formed base with afilled bed material. Thereafter, Addibots may extrude various structuralfeatures. As an example, some roadway designs require the possibilityfor a roadway to expand under heat with expansion joints or otherexpansion elements. In some examples, an Addibot may extrude a featureat a location along the roadway surface. The location of the feature maybe present in a model of the roadway that exists in Addibots andcontrolling apparatus for an Addibot or combinations of Addibots. Theextruded feature may, as an example, be a channel that is formed at thefull height or nearly the full height of the roadway bed when theroadway is completed. In some examples, the channel may be filled with amaterial. In some examples the material filling the channel may be asealing material that may flexibly deform under thermal load and variouspressures and forces from both the roadway and eventual traffic alongthe roadway. In some examples, the material filled into the channel maybe a material such as a salt that will dissolve under the action ofwater to expose a well-controlled gap in the roadway.

Addibots may be used to extrude supporting meshes 1121 of various kinds,shapes, and designs. In some examples an extrusion pattern may be across-hatch pattern. A cross-hatch pattern according to this disclosureis a pattern where two or more features of the pattern approximateintersecting lines. In other examples a unit cell pattern, where a unitcell pattern means a pattern where portions of the pattern are repeated,a beehive pattern or various other patterns that could be useful insupporting a roadbed under the various stresses that it is exposed to.In some examples, the extruded material may be a composite of moltenmaterial with embedded fibers, nanofibers, nanotubes, and othermaterials which may increase strength, flexibility, ability to stretchand other material characteristics that may be desirable for asupporting material which may be embedded in a roadbed. In someexamples, the bed of the roadway may be comprised of asphalt of a giventhickness. As an example, consider a bed of 6-inch thickness asphalt. Insome examples, the extruded supporting material may be a full six-inchthickness, a portion of the six inches, or in some examples, the roadwaymay be formed in multiple levels each one having another extruded layer.In some examples, the extruded material may be formulated withsupporting material embedded within where the molten material may bechosen to mix into the hot asphalt fully or partially as it is laid. Apartial melt of the material may leave a strengthening pattern offibers, nanotubes and the like within the roadway yet not createsignificant gaps within the roadway bed.

Another feature that may be added to the roadway surface may be achannel 1122 that may be used to embed materials such as conductivematerial within a roadway. There may be numerous uses for embeddedconductive material including sensing of various kinds, communicationinterface through wireless means and communication routing along theroadway. As shown the channel 1122 may route electrical connectionsalong a roadway and may also route them to the side of the roadway atside channel 1123. The extrusion techniques and apparatus may be used toform channels as portions of the deposited material. The channel maycontain electrically conductive material with other materials as well.In some examples, the channel may contain communication devices such asoptical fiber. The optical fiber may route signals along the roadway aswell as to devices along or embedded within the roadway. The channel maybe filed with insulating materials of various kinds and in someexamples, portions of the channel may also be topped with structuresthat act as antenna. In some other examples, the channel may be layeredwith different layers of materials, some of the layer may contain andinsulate metallic wires, optical fiber, and other such activecomponents.

Referring to FIG. 11B, an advanced roadway 1110 in conjunction with anAddibot 1130 is depicted. In some examples, an advanced roadway may havebeen formed with use of Addibots in a manner as described. The roadwaymay be formed with embedded sensors, antennas, or other devices forfacilitating communication 1131 between an Addibot 1130 and the advancedroadway 1110. Within the advanced roadway 1110 may be communicationdevices 1132 that may be buried within the roadway, the shoulder or theside of the roadway or be upon these locations. In some examples, theremay be communication devices on roadway poles, signs, and the like. Thecommunication 1131 may comprise wireless communication and may involveradio frequency, infrared frequency, optical frequency, or other formsof wireless communication. In some examples, the advanced roadway may beformed with embedded fibers 1135 formed of conductive materials oroptical fiber. The embedded fibers 1135 may also be considered wires.There may be connection of wires 1138 to power sources along theroadway. The power sources may be standalone sources such as solarpanels 1137 or be connected to power transmission grids 1139.

Communication signals may be routed through the advanced roadway andshoulders of roadways as depicted in FIG. 11B. In some examples, thecommunication signals may be routed out of the roadway to a wirelesstransmitter 1133 located along the roadway. In some examples, signalsmay be transmitted from one wireless transmitter 1133 to anothertransmitter 1136. A combination of transmission through conduits in theroadbed and to roadside transmitters may be used to transmit signals ofvarious kinds. In some examples the signals may relate to the movementof traffic along the roadway. The signals may also relate to conditionsalong the roadway as detected by sensors or traffic itself. In otherexamples the signals may involve communication signals unrelated to thetraffic and may be standard communications that are routed alongroadways. The signals from the roadside communication transmitters suchas wireless transmitter 1133 may be routed to neighboring structures1134 such as residences or businesses. The transmissions in someexamples may comprise standard internet communication transmissions, orin other examples the signals may relate to traffic flow along theroadway. Autonomous vehicles may use the various communications andsensor pathways as part of technological support of the traffic flow.Signals from traffic may be routed from vehicle to vehicle with thesupport of the roadway communication system. And signals from trafficmay be routed along wireless pathways to internet connections to centralcontrollers for traffic flow that may be located at off road sites suchas neighboring structures 1134. The internet connections may be used totransmit signals from and to remote control systems.

In an example related to FIG. 11B, the communication and control systemsmay be used to control repair of advanced roadways. Addibot 1130, may beguided to regions that need repair of various types. The need for repairmay be detected in various manners such as for example sensors or imagecapture devices on traffic vehicles, control information provided byhuman inspectors or roadway users or the like. In another use of thecommunication infrastructure of the exemplary advanced roadway system,the Addibot can also receive location information from the informationand communication systems of the advanced roadway.

The interaction of an Addibot and an advanced roadway may be useful inboth the respect of creating the advanced roadway and in repairing it.The resulting advanced roadway may also be useful for advanced vehicleoperation as well. In a non-limiting example, driverless cars mayreceive communication, location information, intra-vehicle informationsharing, guidance related information and the like through operation ofthe components of the advanced roadway as described herein. Referring toFIG. 12, an advanced roadway 1210 in conjunction with a vehicle 1230 isdepicted. In some examples, an advanced roadway may have been formedwith use of Addibots in a manner as described. The roadway may be formedwith embedded sensors, antennas, or other devices for facilitatingcommunication 1231 between a vehicle 1230 and the advanced roadway 1210.Within the advanced roadway 1210 may be communication devices 1232 thatmay be buried within the roadway, the shoulder or the side of theroadway or be upon these locations. In some examples, there may becommunication devices on roadway poles, signs, and the like. Thecommunication 1231 may comprise wireless communication and may involveradio frequency, infrared frequency, optical frequency, or other formsof wireless communication. In some examples, the advanced roadway may beformed with embedded fibers 1235 formed of conductive materials oroptical fiber. The embedded fibers 1235 may also be considered wires.There may be connection of wires 1238 to power sources along theroadway. The power sources may be standalone sources such as solarpanels 1237 or be connected to power transmission grids 1239.

Communication signals may be routed through the advanced roadway andshoulders of roadways as depicted in FIG. 12. In some examples, thecommunication signals may be routed out of the roadway to wirelesstransmitter 1233 located along the roadway. In some examples, signalsmay be transmitted from one wireless transmitter 1233 to anothertransmitter 1236. A combination of transmission through conduits in theroadbed and to roadside transmitters may be used to transmit signals ofvarious kinds. In some examples the signals may relate to the movementof traffic along the roadway. The signals may also relate to conditionsalong the roadway as detected by sensors or traffic itself. In otherexamples the signals may involve communication signals unrelated to thetraffic and may be standard communications that are routed alongroadways. The signals from the roadside communication transmitters suchas wireless transmitter 1233 may be routed to neighboring structures1234 such as residences or businesses. The transmissions in someexamples may comprise standard internet communication transmissions, orin other examples the signals may relate to traffic flow along theroadway. Autonomous vehicles may use the various communications andsensor pathways as part of technological support of the traffic flow.Signals from traffic may be routed from vehicle to vehicle with thesupport of the roadway communication system. And signals from trafficmay be routed along wireless pathways to internet connections to centralcontrollers for traffic flow that may be located at off road sites suchas neighboring structures 1234. The internet connections may be used totransmit signals from and to remote control systems. In some examples,the communication infrastructure of the advanced roadway system may beutilized for data communications that are not related to traffic,repair, or other aspects of the roadway itself such as internetconnectivity for residential and commercial operations within thevicinity of roadways.

Embedded Energy Generation Devices

Referring to FIG. 13, an example of an Addibot assisting in theconstruction of roadways with embedded energy generation devices may befound. Photovoltaic devices may be able to generate electricity fromsolar incidence. The incorporation of photovoltaic devices into advancedroadways has been discussed in the reference specifications of theinventive entity. The deposition of specifically shaped or texturedtransparent films on the roadway surface and above the photovoltaicdevices is further described herein. Additionally, Piezoelectric devicesmay be able to generate electricity from pressure applied across them.As a vehicle traverses a roadway, it imparts pressure to the roadwaywhere its tires run. Thus, a piezoelectric material may be laid into theroadway and electrically connected to a power grid. In some examples,only standard locations where tires typically traverse the roadway maybe laid, a task which is particularly suited for an Addibot. Incontinued reference to FIG. 13, an advanced roadway 1110 may have anAddibot 1130 placing photoelectric or piezoelectric panels on or withina roadway bed. The panels may be in a roadway lane 1330 or on the marginor shoulders 1320 of the roadway. The panels may be electricallyconnected within the roadway with conductive traces 1310 which feed intoa communication and power grid. In the example of the photovoltaicpanels, any surface material overlying the panels and isolating themfrom vehicle tires may be transparent materials. In a non-limitingexample, a silicone layer may be deposited upon the panel. Due toweather, traction and other motivations, the deposition may in someexamples have topology of ridges, bumps, and other protrusion above aflat surface. The additive manufacturing elements may deposit a standardpattern, or in concert with a vision system which may characterize thetopology of the general area of the roadway surface a calculateddeposition pattern may be applied by the Addibot. In the example,discrete locations of panels are depicted, it may be possible that anentire roadway is covered with energy generating panels in part or inwhole. In other examples, only the margins or shoulders may be covered.In still further examples only the roadway surfaces are covered. Infurther examples, regions of the roadway surface that have less passesof tires upon them may be designed for the location of photovoltaicdevice location.

Embedded Charging Systems in Roadways with Addibots

Referring to FIG. 14, an example of a roadway with embedded chargingsystems within a lane or the entire roadway is illustrated. An advancedroadway with charging elements 1410 is depicted with an electric vehicle1430. Within the roadway, a conductive and emitting power conduit 1420may be found. In some examples, power from an electrical grid 1440 maybe passed to control modules which then connect a supply power to theconductive and emitting power conduit 1420 through embedded conductivefeatures 1460 in the roadway. The embedded conductive features may beone or more of wires or conductive films, or conductive deposits in someexamples. An Addibot may be used to additively deposit the embeddedconductive features 1460 for power supply as well as the conductive andemitting power conduit 1420 in the various manners have been previouslydescribed herein and in reference documents of the same inventiveentity. In use, an electric vehicle 1430 may absorb energy transmittedfrom the roadway via the conductive and emitting power conduit 1420 andthe vehicle receive the emanations 1450 from the roadway and convertthem into stored electrical energy in the vehicle power train.

Communications Imbedded in Roadways connected to Broadcast Towers

Referring to FIG. 15, an exemplary advanced roadway with embeddedcommunication wires 1510 which connect to broadcast towers isillustrated. A motor vehicle such as an automobile 1550 may traverse anadvanced roadway with one or more devices within the vehicle or of theoccupants that emit wireless signals 1515. The wireless signals may bereceived by antennas 1520 of various kinds or other types of receivingdevices that are within the roadway, upon the roadway surface or mountedin proximity to the roadway in concert with a margin or shoulder. Asignal received by the antenna may be conveyed by embedded conductorsand conveyed by repeating devices 1525. In some examples, the signalsmay be routed to a broadcast tower 1540 which may comprise broadcastdevices consistent with one or more communications standards with radiofrequency, and other spectral band frequency in the infrared, visiblespectrums for example. In some examples, the signals may be digitalcommunications, in other examples, radio frequency analog such asamplitude modulation or frequency modulation may be employed. Cellularbroadcast standards may be employed in some examples. In theillustration of FIG. 15, the broadcast tower 1540 is connected to therepeating device 1525 with a wired connection 1530. The example isillustrated with the automotive device located in relatively closeproximity to the broadcast tower 1540. As the vehicle moves along theroadway it may become far enough away from the broadcast tower 1540 suchthat it may not be able to wirelessly communicate with equipment on thebroadcast tower 1540. In these examples, the embedded roadwaycommunication system may communicate to the motor vehicle and a signalmay traverse a significant distance within the roadway communicationsystem before it launches out of the roadway and in some examples to acommunication tower or broadcast tower 1540.

Tethered or Trailered Addibot Devices

Referring to FIG. 16 an example of an Addibot 1600 device operating as atrailer to a construction vehicle 1610 is provided. The constructionvehicle 1610 may be connected to the Addibot 1600 via a tow 1620 ortether device. In some examples, the lead vehicle may provide themobility aspects to the Addibot system and may navigate and move theAddibot trailer to desired locations. The trailered Addibot 1600 maymaintain some or all of the other functions except navigation andmobility with its own systems. For example, the trailered Addibot 1600may have a vision system 1630 that may analyze the roadway surface as ittraverses the roadway, identifying cracks, potholes and other featuresand defects which may have material deposited with an additivemanufacturing element 1640, which in some examples may be a singleextrusion or deposition element or in other examples may be an additivemanufacturing array.

A “tethered” Addibot may appear similarly to the illustration in FIG.16, but in addition to mobility and navigation, some or all of thematerial handling or storage may be contained in the lead constructionvehicle 1610. FIG. 16, With an Addibot functioning in tandem with anexternal material handling and/or storage vehicle, this Addibot may betethered, or otherwise connected to the external material handlingand/or storage vehicle. In some cases, the material handling and storagesystems may be contained on-board an Addibot; however, in other examplesan external material handling and/or storage vehicle may function intandem with an Addibot, this external vehicle may have the materialhandling and storage capabilities. In this case, the external vehiclehandles the storage and materials processing and handling systems,routing processed material to the Addibot to be dispensed into theworkspace. In some cases, both the external vehicle and the Addibot mayhave material handling and storage systems, either at the same scale andvolume, or at different scales/volumes, or to handle differentprocessing steps that are necessary for the material to be processed andultimately added to the roadway surface.

In some examples, an Addibot or a lead vehicle may include some of thesurface preparation systems that may prepare cracks for furtherprocessing. In some examples a pavement router, saw, laser cutter, flametreatment or other device may remove material and or dry pavement arounda crack site. In some examples compressed air may be forced into thesurface defects. The compressed air may be heated and may contain otherchemicals such as steam in a non-limiting example. In some examples theentire pavement surface may be precleaned with one or more of thetreatment options mentioned which may clean the defects, cracks, andhole features as well. Pressured water treatments or other solvents mayalso be performed in some examples.

In some examples of road constructions, depending upon the primary roadsurface material, which may include or combine asphalt, concrete, orother materials, the roadway construction may consist of multiple layersof applied material. These layers may include, as non-limiting examples,a sub-base, granular base, and top-road surface layers. Typicalconstructions may include these 3 (or fewer layers), but other types ofroad constructions, such as for airport runways, may have additionallayers that create a more complex road construction.

A typical sub-base layer may comprise of material already present at asite. This material may include topsoil, loamy soils, rock formations,bedrock, or other soil mixtures and rock formations present in an areabefore construction. In many cases, the existing material may besatisfactory for a sub-base and may be processed by excavating tools toreach a desired thickness and surface altitude for the desiredconstruction; in some of these cases, the layer thickness or surfacealtitude may not be satisfactory, and material may be added to theimmediate construction area from other locations on the site that arenot part of the eventual road construction. In other cases, the materialavailable at a site may not have satisfactory properties, such asbearing capacity as a non-limiting example, to function as a suitablesub-base for the planned road construction. In these cases, as anon-limiting example, material may be excavated, removed from the site,and replaced with a more suitable material to a desired layer thicknessand surface altitude; other methods also exist for replacing anun-suitable sub-base to construct a suitable sub-base for the roadconstruction.

A typical granular base layer may include material brought to a site.This material may include, as a non-limiting example, a mineralaggregate mixture with granules with a diameter and density within acertain pre-determined range. This mixture may be of uniform mineralcomposition or may contain multiple types of minerals. The median ofthis granule diameter range may be large or small, depending on thespecific application of the road construction, as well as the extent ofthe loads that will be incident on the surface; in many examples, thismedian granule size is typically smaller than that of the sub-base forbearing capacity considerations.

A typical top-road surface layer may include asphalt, concrete, or othermaterial that creates a smooth and stable driving surface for a vehicle.With asphalt road constructions, this top-road surface layer may be amixture composed of a mineral aggregate (of typically smaller granulesize than that of the granular base layer) that can be any or acombination of stone chippings, sand, filling additives, or othermaterial additives, along with a tar or bitumen product that acts as abinding material for these mineral aggregate granules. With concreteroad constructions, this top-road surface layer may be a mixturecomposed of a mineral aggregate (of typically smaller granule size thanthat of the granular base layer) that can be any or a combination ofstone chippings, sand, filling additives, or other material additives,along with cement that acts as a binding material for these mineralaggregate granules; this cement may be activated and mixed to a suitableconsistency for construction with the addition of water. There may bemany non-standard materials that may be added to a roadway constructionthrough mobile additive manufacturing techniques. Some examples havebeen provided in referenced material, but for example strengtheningmaterials may be printed or added upon the base layers before the toplayer is added. In some examples, the strengthening material which mayinclude metallic and inorganic fibers or may include nanomaterials suchas graphene, carbon nanotubes and the like, may be included in a carriermaterial. The carrier and the associated strengthening material may beextruded or printed by an Addibot into patterns on the roadway, and insome examples the carrier material may co-melt with an elevatedtemperature application of a top layer. The carrier material may be athermoplastic such as ABS for example, but various materials that have amelting temperature below a top layer application such as asphalt may beused according to the examples herein.

Many processing and handling steps may be considered when storing,transporting, or applying the various materials to a road construction.With regards to the sub-base layer, processing steps are typicallydestructive in nature, such as excavation, but may also be additive,such as depositing new sub-base material onto a work area. With regardsto the granular base layer, these processing steps are typicallyadditive and highly controlled in nature, where mineral aggregategranules of specified diameter are added to a workspace on top of thesub-base layer. The considerations for these diameter measurementschosen typically to relate to the compressive strain acting on a layerfrom the above layers and the loads upon the road, as well as thetensile strains acting at layer boundaries and within layers.

Typically, the most time intensive, labor intensive, and otherwisedemanding processing steps occur with regards to the top-road surface.Work must go into making the specific material mixtures that are appliedas the top-road surface. This work may include choosing and mixingmaterials of specified volume and density with specified ratios of eachto create a mixture of desired average density, porosity, and otherphysical properties that may be desired for a road surface, dependingupon its application. Depending on the mixture in question, whetherasphalt, concrete, or other mixtures, different processing steps mayneed to be taken to create uniform consistencies of the mixtures thathave been made. For asphalt, as a non-limiting example, the mixture mayneed to be set to a specific temperature to achieve a desired viscosityof the tar binding material. For concrete, as another non-limitingexample, the mixture may need to have a specific water content, so thatthe cement may have a desired viscosity to act as a binding material. Intransporting these materials to a worksite, or in applying the materialsto a work surface at a site, other processing steps may need to takeplace to maintain the material at a desired consistency, among otherphysical properties desired for proper application. For asphalt, as anon-limiting example, the mixture may be set to a specific temperatureto achieve a desired viscosity of the mixture as a whole. For concrete,as another non-limiting example, the mixture may be constantly agitateduntil application, so that it does not harden until it has been applied.As well, after these materials are applied to their desired locations,additional processing steps may be required to construct the properroad-top layers from the applied materials. For asphalt, as anon-limiting example, the asphalt mixture may be compacted to achieve adesired porosity (or lack thereof) of the surface. This may be typicallydone for asphalt with large rollers, where the rollers apply acombination of physical pressure and vibration to compact the layer; oneof the most important aspects of this processing may be the vibrationaspect of it, and this may be achieved with many other methods,including sound waves as a non-limiting example which may be included inthe processing capabilities of an Addibot in addition to the ability toroll over a deposit with a rolling agitation device. For concrete, asanother non-limiting example, the applied layer of material is typicallyquite smooth, which may result in a low surface coefficient of frictionfor tires of vehicles using the surface; this low friction environmentmay be a poor working environment for these vehicles, as they may slipover the surface, so the concrete surface may be roughed using brushesor other implements, to increase this friction. For material mixturesthat are more fluid in nature, such as purely tar-based materials as anon-limiting example, additional processing steps or considerations maybe important to the proper application of these materials. For example,with purely tar-based materials, in addition to being processed to aspecific temperature, it may also be necessary to process the materialsto a specific pressure. Addibots may provide some or all of thedeposition steps, and some other processing steps, and they may act assingle multiprocessing capability Addibots, or they may operate in teamsof specialized Addibot processing tools.

Line Painting on Advanced Roadways

Referring to FIG. 17, an example of an Addibot preparing signal lines ona roadway surface is illustrated. In the example, an Addibot 1710 maypaint a signal line 1720 in the roadway such as a dividing line betweenlanes. The location, frequency, spacing, length, and the like may becontrolled by the navigation system as well as the vision system.Boundary lines 1730 may also be drawn by the Addibot. In some examples,a line feature may be supplemented with more material being added to thebulk of the deposit such as raised features which may enhance thevisibility of the line feature. Lines may be created with various formsof paint, thermoplastic, or other materials. The paint may includeoil/solvent based paint including alkyd based, and chlorinated rubbertypes of paint. The type of paint may include water based paint whichmay have enhanced drying capabilities. The thermoplastic paints mayinclude cold applied and hot applied thermoplastic paint. In someexamples, paint including additives may be used such as reflectivepaints.

In some examples an Addibot may place discrete features under, into orupon a roadway surface. The discrete feature may be placed before aroadway surface is finished or afterwards. In some examples, an antennastructure may be formed into a block and placed within the roadwaysurface. In some examples, the Addibot that is printing lines such asboundary lines 1730 may place an antenna 1740 within the roadway. Theantenna structure formed in a block may have incorporated electronicswithin the structure in some examples. The block may lay upon conductivetraces in the roadway in some examples. In other examples, the Addibot1710 may paint conductive connections between the antenna and embeddedconductive features 1750 of the roadway. In some examples, the Addibot1710, may paint a conductive feature and then may follow with a largerinsulating feature upon the interconnection of the conductive paintedfeature.

Additive Manufacturing Robot with Composite Function

Referring to FIG. 18A a form of an additive manufacturing robot may becreated by combining an additive manufacturing function 1840 such as aprinting head or an AMARRAY with other roadway repair and constructionfunctions. In some examples, the additive manufacturing function 1840may be supplied with a filament form of material 1841 stored in amaterial storage hopper 1862. In other examples, an AMARRAY may besupplied with discrete material elements that may be stored in thematerial storage hopper 1862. The surface of the discrete materialelements may be coated in a very thin polymer or powdered aggregatecoating or other surface modifications that may ensure that the discretematerial elements remain discrete and do not adhere significantly toeach other.

Furthermore, a composite Addibot 1810 may include a cleaning functionsuch as a pressurized water washing function. The cleaning function maybe supplied with materials such as aqueous solutions from a materialstorage tank 1860. In some examples, cleaned material from the surfaceincluding some liquids and solids may be removed from the surface andstored in a refuse storage location 1861.

In other examples, the composite Addibot may also include a line orspray printing function 1820. The additive manufacturing function may beused to repair defects such as cracks and potholes or it may be used tolay strengthening material before a new layer of asphalt is laid. Anadditive manufacturing robot may typically include a scanning function1815 and the scanning function may be used to characterize a roadway,driveway, parking lot or other surface that the composite Addibot mayact upon. The composite Addibot may also include a seal coating function1835. The composite Addibot may include a pressurized washing system1830. The composite Addibot may also include a brushing function 1850which may be used in some cases to sweep a surface as a pretreatment andto spread material such as seal coating or crack fill after application.The sweeping function may also include a vacuum cleaning function or apressurized gas or air function as well. In some examples a weightedvibrational roller (not shown) may also be included. In some examples arouting or milling implement (not shown) may also be included.

Referring to FIG. 18B, in some examples, a composite Addibot may beteamed with a camera equipped drone 1880 to control processing on aroadway, driveway, or parking lot. The camera equipped drone 1880 may beused to create an aerial map of a region to be treated. If the cameraequipped drone 1880 surveys the region under use, the existing roughtopography, traffic flow, parking layout, large scale defectiveness,painted line layout and the like may be assessed.

Referring to FIG. 18C, an exemplary aerial survey 1870 is illustrated.The survey region may be any region with a roadway, driveway, parkinglot or the like, but for example a shopping center parking lot isdepicted. In some examples, a user of the composite Addibot 1810 withcamera equipped drone 1880 may survey a future work area with the cameraequipped drone 1880 in advance of performing the work. The exemplaryaerial survey 1810 for example may show the presence of cars or othervehicles in parking locations. Whereas, during the performance of workactivities the region may be blocked off from such elements. The surveymay best be obtained during a daylight condition and may also bedesirable when the sky is not overcast. Although it may be desirable toperform the survey during daylight, it is possible for Addibots tofunction during night-time conditions.

Alignment features may be laid, deposited, affixed, or painted upon theregion under study such as a first 1871, second 1872, and third 1873alignment feature which may be used as a part of the navigation systemand may be used to register a model of the parking lot between modelscreated by the aerial survey for example and the physical locationitself.

The aerial survey 1870 may also show buildings 1874 and parking spots1875. A user may marry an aerial survey 1870 with tax maps or realestate title maps to determine boundaries 1876 of the property. The usermay do this through an interface provided with processing software by acontroller. The controller may be a portion of the composite Addibot ora separate computer or controller which has an ability of transferringdata to the controller of an Addibot such as the composite Addibot. Theoperator may also create a design for locations of line markings to belaid down after repair, resurfacing or new surfacing activities arecomplete. In the design, the survey location may be used to lay thelines in a nearly identical fashion, or the user may create a newpattern design. A portion of previously lined parking spaces may bediscarded as indicated by the markings 1877 on the survey. Although thesurvey may be obtained with camera equipped drone, it is also possiblethat other sources of the equivalent imagery such as other aerialsurveys or satellite surveys may be imported into a design system forAddibots.

During the course of working on the region that has been surveyed, theremay be numerous types of repairs to cracks and potholes and defects ofthe like that may be made. The Addibot may retain location informationrelating to the various defects which may be stored into a database ofthe Addibot. The location of the defects may likewise be stored withcategorization of the type and class of defect where the location may beas determined by the Addibots' navigation system or other locationsystems. Referring to FIG. 18D the data may be associated with thesurvey data and a map type portrayal may be made of the defect locationssuch as cracks 1890 or potholes 1891 relative to the first 1871, second1872 and third 1873 reference positions or any other number thereof.

In some examples, a prior repair map may be used to drive preventivemaintenance activities before the entire lot is again worked on. Thecrack repairs could be studies and maintained at a later date forexample. In other examples, the prior repair maps may be used to designstrengthened regions in future repaving activities. Whether the topasphalt layers are covered or removed, the existence of cracks andpotholes may be correlated to better future performance when an Addibotprints strengthening regions upon the roadway surface before newpavement is applied. In some examples, structures of materials that maymelt into asphalt blacktop or other surface materials may bestrengthened with carbon nanotubes and other strengthening agents ashave been described previously.

While the disclosure has been made in conjunction with specificexamples, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, andvariations will be apparent to those skilled in the art considering theforegoing description. Accordingly, this description is intended toembrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fallwithin its spirit and scope. Certain features that are described in thisspecification in the context of separate embodiments can also beimplemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures that are described in the context of a single embodiment canalso be implemented in combination in multiple embodiments separately orin any suitable sub-combination. Moreover, although features may bedescribed above as acting in certain combinations and even initiallyclaimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can insome cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combinationmay be directed to a sub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous.

In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in adifferent order and still achieve desirable results. In addition, theprocesses depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarilyrequire the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achievedesirable results. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallelprocessing may be advantageous. Nevertheless, it will be understood thatvarious modifications may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the claimed invention. Moreover, although features may bedescribed above as acting in certain combinations and even initiallyclaimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can insome cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combinationmay be directed to a sub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

In some examples of roadway construction and repair and construction ofwalls, the additive manufacturing components of an Addibot may have beendescribed in relationship to extrusion apparatus with molding forms toform the extruded material. There may be other additive manufacturingtechniques such as extrusion from spatially controlled nozzles and otheradditive manufacturing techniques. In some examples of the creation ofstructures, the formation of walls has been described, there may benumerous structures that may be created in similar methods consistentwith the present disclosure, such as sculptures and foundations asnon-limiting examples.

Moreover, the separation of various system components in the embodimentsdescribed above should not be understood as requiring such separation inall embodiments. Examples of Addibots may include all system componentsor a subset of components and may act in multiples to perform variousfunctions. Thus, while particular embodiments of the subject matter havebeen described, other embodiments are within the scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of repairing a roadway or a parking lot,the method comprising: placing at least three alignment features uponthe roadway or the parking lot, wherein the at least three alignmentfeatures are visibly distinct from the roadway or the parking lot;surveying the roadway or the parking lot, wherein the surveyingcomprises scanning a surface of the roadway or the parking lot fordefects and for the at least three alignment features and recordinglocation information along with scan data; processing a datafileresulting from the surveying to determine a first model of locations torepair, wherein the first model of locations to repair is calibrated tothe location information of the at least three alignment features;moving a mobile additive manufacturing robot upon of the roadway or theparking lot, wherein a movement is based upon the first model oflocations to repair; preparing the surface of the roadway or the parkinglot for a repair process with the mobile additive manufacturing robot;and repairing the defects in the surface of the roadway or the parkinglot with the mobile additive manufacturing robot.
 2. The method of claim1 wherein the surveying is performed at least in part utilizing anaerial drone.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the surveying isperformed at least in part by one or more mobile additive robots eachequipped with a vision system to scan the surface as the mobile additiverobots move over it.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the surveydatafile is communicated to a remote server for processing to form thefirst model of locations to repair.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein theremote server processes the survey datafile utilizing artificialintelligence algorithms.
 6. The method of claim 5 where in the remoteserver comprises at least a first AI processing chip to process thesurvey datafile.
 7. The method of claim 3 wherein at least a firstmobile additive robot comprises an AI processing chip to process datareceived from the vision system.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein therepairing of the defects comprises depositing a sealing material into acrack feature.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the repairing of thedefects comprises depositing a seal coating material upon the surface.10. The method of claim 1 wherein the repairing of the defects comprisesdepositing a plurality of discrete material elements upon the surface.11. The method of claim 10 wherein the plurality of discrete materialelements comprise: an inner core; a first coating layer comprising anadhesive, wherein the first coating layer surrounds the inner core; anda second solid coating layer surrounding the first coating layer,wherein the second solid coating layer prevents the plurality ofdiscrete material elements from binding to surrounding material whilethe plurality of discrete material elements are in a material storagehopper.
 12. The method of claim 1 further comprising surveying theroadway or the parking lot to analyze a movement of traffic.
 13. Themethod of claim 12 where the analyzing of the movement of trafficprovides input to a creation of a second model, wherein the second modelcomprises a location of line features upon the surface of the roadway orthe parking lot.
 14. The method of claim 13 wherein an artificialintelligence algorithm is utilized in the creation of the second model.15. The method of claim 13 wherein the location of line features isderived by optimizing a flow of traffic.
 16. The method of claim 15wherein the line features are applied to the surface by spray painting.17. The method of claim 15 wherein the line features are applied to thesurface by heating a thermoplastic substrate of a line feature.
 18. Themethod of claim 15 wherein the line features comprise an electricallyconductive material.
 19. The method of claim 15 wherein the optimizedflow of traffic is used to generate a third model, wherein the thirdmodel defines locations to add strengthening material to the surface ofthe roadway or the parking lot.
 20. The method of claim 19 furthercomprising: adding the strengthening material to the surface of theroadway or the parking lot; and covering the deposited strengtheningmaterial with an asphalt layer.